Otherworld: The Beginning
by Mandala
Summary: Getting sucked into an alternate world isn't exactly what Lia expected when she was transported in a most alarming way into the world of Kingdom Hearts. Will she ever make her way back to her world? And what other friends and foes will she encounter?
1. A Day Too Long

DISCLAIMER: *Ahem* Through out this fanfic there will be many characters and items that are in video games, I do not own any one of them, the only thing I can ever take credit for is my original characters and other ideas put into this fanfic. All characters from games probably are owned and liscensed by Squaresoft or their own respective companies.  
  
I do not get paid for the creation of this fanfic (wish I did though).  
  
But: I write this fanfic to amuse readers. I write this fanfic to show the world how bad my spelling is. I write this fanfic because it was the only other thing to do at 11:30 at night. I write this fanfic becasue I have no other way to express my gratitude to all of the writers/animators of great games and animes.  
  
Content Warning: (If any) In this 'fic there is mild use of foul language and some humor that would be considered innapropriate for younger children also, there might be so romance (still in progress with the deatails) but nothing is for certain...  
  
~Have fun and don't sue!  
  
Otherworld: The Begining Chapter One ~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Usually quiet halls were made noisy by the many teenagers that wandered to their homerooms some courageous few stopping at their lockers.  
  
Lia sprinted to her locker from the bus ramp, brown hair flying, bookbag and lunch bag bang against her backside, not stopping when teachers yelled at her to slow down. Lia skidded to a halt infront of her locker, quickly spinning the black dial to the correct numbers. 'Oh crap, am I late!' was the only thing going through Lia's mind. She flung open her locker, the door banging on the locker next to it.  
  
~*~  
  
Cirus watched with an amused smirk as Lia stuffed her back pack and lunchbox into her locker, still keeping her blue camoflauge binder somehow balanced on her flaring arms. He flipped his bleached blond hair out of his face and moved nearer to her.  
  
~*~ He moved ever so quietly to her behind her and grabbed her shoulder. She jumped, spun around one arm out attempting to whack him in the face. He blocked her arm quickly, raising his arm to cover his face.  
  
"Geese, it sorta makes you feel all warm inside knowing your friends want to hit you." Cirus said,blue eyes gleaming sarcasm oozing out of every sylable.  
  
Lia's cheeks turned a bright red, and she yelled "Well you don't have to go and scare the crap outta me!"  
  
He chuckled waving his arms like he was brushing a fly away , "You know you should probably get going to class and..." his statement was cut short as she gave a squeal and ran down the halls to her first period.  
  
~*~  
  
A dark-haired girl walked slowly down the sidewalk, head phones plugged into her ears, her school clothes rippling slightly by the wind, school bag and lunch box banging noiselessly at her sides.The way she presented herself; head high and shoulders back, you could hardly tell that she was only 13. She was very tall for her age also, almost 6 feet.  
  
'Boring!' her mind screamed 'Today like all others, is BORING!' her grey eyes gazed about the world around her for the millionth time, the same white picket fences that were there years ago in her child hood, brightly colored houses with perfectly trimmed lawns and shubbery. Gated parks lined with oak trees, now sheding their spring coats for the coming chill. She shook her head, 'Everything remains the same, so why do I even bother...' she sniffled, regaining her posture she turned the volume on her CD player higher.  
  
~*~  
  
Soon Lia came to her home, the only house on the block that didn't have a 'perfect' yard. She walked slowly up the winding driveway to a large field that was infront of her house. 'The lawn needs to be mowed.' she sighed. She unlocked the front door to her house and went in.  
  
She trudged through the main hallway, dropping random articles of her supplies making her way to the kitchen. She sat down on a wooden stool near the bar in the kitchen. She folded her arms and rested her head, 'Today was too long for my liking ,' she yawned 'I can't wait til mom gets home.' She raised her arm lazily and turned on the small television on the counter top.  
  
The screen flickered and the news came on. An asian looking reporter with an unrully amount of hair on her head came on, "Today is the final day to see the president, so if you havent already or even if you have you should come." the anchorman came on "Well thank you Sheila, now to Skip with the sport scores." Lia rolled her eyes and clicked off the T.V. , 'Oh boy, lets go see the president!' she thought sarcasticly. She slowly rose; groaning as she did.  
  
~*~  
  
She stomped grudgingly up to here room; the old wooden stairs creaking in protest as she climbed. She trudged to her closed door and banged her head against it. She fumbled with the knob for a moment, turned it and stumbled into her room.  
  
Lia walked silently to her bed and flopped down seeking comfort in its cloth recesses. She manuvered her way around onto her back and sat up; nearly falling off in the process. She kicked off her shoes lazily, and opened up one of her nightstands two drawers and pulled out her TV control and turned her TV on. The news came up again, 'Whoop-dee do...' she thought dryly. Lia flipped through channels, often stopping to glance at shows like Blue Seed and Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
As she flipped, she peeked at the clock on the nightstand hiding behind the lamp, it was only 3:12 p.m. Lia turned off the TV, to tired to even keep one finger pressed down. "No harm in just taking a nap." she said a she stiffled a yawn.  
  
~*~  
  
The pillar shook, peices of concrete flew down from the surrounding buildings crumbling apart from the force of the impact. Tourtured screams filled the air as the plate came toppling onto unsuspecting people.  
  
Lia looked around, this was terrible! Her hand came up to her mouth to stop the sobs of terror from escaping. She looked down at her hand and gasped at what she saw, her hand was see-through. She looked down at herself, she noticed her clothes had changed too.  
  
"It feels a little drafty up here....wait, up here?!" there was no ground below her, she was floating!  
  
Her gaze fell upon the scene below her.'This looks like......When the Sector 7 plate fell in Final Fantasy 7!'she thought. Suddenly everything melted away and a new picture replaced the old.  
  
A man with white hair and black cape stalked down somekind of hallway. A large sword dragged behind him, it looked two times two big for him but it looked like he could use it well. The hallway turned into a large brick looking corridor, it looked aged; with moss growing through the cracks. Lia's feet touched the ground, and she ran after the man.  
  
The corridor looked as though it was cut off. The edge dropping off into oblivion. Right before he took his last step and fell into the blackness below he turned around. Lia stopped nearly losing her balance, the mans appearance shocked her; his face was darkened, prbably shadowed by his hair.  
  
' The time of Reckoning draws near! Worlds collide, new and old reunite, and you,' he said; pointing a blakc gloved finger at Lia 'Shall be in the crossfire, on neither side shall you be.'  
  
~*~  
  
Lia awoke with a jolt, sweat drenched her face and neck; her clothes clung to her like a second skin, adding to the warmth. 'The time of Reckoning? , what in the hell was that?' Lia thought, the dream flashing at a mind-boggling speed before her eyes.  
  
Today was just too long.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, so how was it? REVIEW PLEASE! Flames welcomed, but at least be creative. Even if I don't get any reveiws I,m gonna continue this, so don't worry. Sooner or later I'll make this into a big fat mix of games like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy 7 and some others, but I just have ta' get the story goin'. But again, PLEASE REVEIW! What do you think should happen next? IDEAS PLEASE! (P.S.: Sorry for any typing errors or bad punctuation....I promise to stop being a retard just as soon as I find my brain.)  
  
~Mandala (CaitSith11093@aol.com)  
  
TBC (To Be Continued) 


	2. Bad Days

DISCLAIMER: *Ahem* Through out this fanfic there will be many characters and items that are in video games, I do not own any one of them, the only thing I can ever take credit for is my original characters and other ideas put into this fanfic. All characters from games probably are owned and liscensed by Squaresoft or their own respective companies.  
  
I do not get paid for the creation of this fanfic (wish I did though).  
  
But:  
  
I write this fanfic to amuse readers.  
  
I write this fanfic to show the world how bad my spelling is.  
  
I write this fanfic because it was the only other thing to do at 11:30 at night.  
  
I write this fanfic becasue I have no other way to express my gratitude to all of the writers/animators of great games and animes.  
  
Content Warning: (If any) In this 'fic there is mild use of foul language and some humor that would be considered innapropriate for younger children also, there might be so romance (still in progress with the deatails) but nothing is for certain...  
  
~Have fun and don't sue!  
  
Otherworld: The Begining Chapter 2  
  
~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
Dark clouds hung low in the sky bringing bad omens to those below. Feirce winds blew dying leaves off rotting trees early this year. But something was different about the formation of the sky...the clouds were forming a spiral.  
  
Lia walked home in silence; this wasn't making any sense. 'What could that dream have ment?' , that same question repeated itself through out her mind all day.  
  
"Gosh! This is really starting to piss me OFF!" Lia kicked a lone pinecone out of her path and jammed her hands in her jean pockets. Today wasn't going her way at all.  
  
First, her alarm clock didn't ring and she almost missed her bus. Then her locker jammed and she missed half of first period trying to pry it open to get her books, which landed her with detention for a week. She slipped in P.E. drenching her uniform, and to top it all off, she stained her clothes when Cirus tried to hit her with a fully loaded hot dog.  
  
"Today just couldn't get any worse!" she fumed. Large drops of water fell from the sky drenching Lia to the bone. "CRAPOLA!" she yelled as she struggled to keep everything balanced as she ran home.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia slammed the front door shut and dropped her sopping wet backpack near the door. Lia stiffled a sneeze and made her way into the kitchen. She was about to climb up the stairs to her room when she noticed a blinking light on the answering machine next to the phone. Lia pushed the button with a click.  
  
'Honey, I'm going to be getting home late tonight...Later than usual, I need to get caught up at work and this unexpected storm isn't helping at all. You can heat up somehting in the freezer, I think there are some frozen pizzas in there...Well I need to get back to work snuggle bunny, see you soon!" rang her mothers voice from the machine  
  
Lia cringed at the mention her mothers juvinile names for her and sighed, today just got worse.  
  
~*~  
  
Frozen pizzas weren't as bad as Lia thought they would be and she went up to her room with a content smile.  
  
As she waited for her mother to arrive Lia entertained herfelf in her room by playing some of her video games. In the time of two hours she had played various parts from Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 10 and Kingdom Hearts. Lia put a hand beside her and noticed her bed felt a bit wet and she realized the whole time she was still wearing her wet clothes. Lia gave an exasperated sigh and went to take a shower.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia got dressed into a white tank top and short blue jean shorts, combed her hair thoroughly and lay on her bed and thought more upon her dream.  
  
"What does it all mean?!" she yelled into oblivion.  
  
'Nothing' whispered an almost inaudible voice.  
  
"What?" asked Lia, franticly looking about her room.  
  
'Nothing' whispered the voice again.  
  
Lia head swam and her vision came out of focus. She stumbled lamely around her room, quickly dropping to her knees.  
  
'Existence, the world around you means nothing.' the whisper spoke.  
  
High pitched screeching filled the room even drowning out Lia's scream. A large black puddle appeared around Lia's body that lay sprawled on the floor of her room. Black tendrils snaked out of the dark hole as it widened, the tentacles wove themselves around Lia's body a slowly dragged her downward into darkness...  
  
~*~  
  
Floating. That was all Lia could feel. She floated upside-down or something... She really couldn't tell which direction she was looking. All she could tell was that she was in somekind of blueish purple water. Wait...water?!  
  
Lia thrashed about for a moment. This has to be a dream, there is no way in hell she could be in water and not drowning.  
  
'At least I'm breathing.' she thought.  
  
Suddenly her bare feet were on solid ground. Lia leaned forward a bit to catch her balance and looked around. Again there was black, but she was standing on some kind of platform that seemed to keep her from falling. The ground below her seemed to stir and hundreds of bird looking creatures kifted off of the floor revealing something below them. The whole platform made a picture from one Disney movie she had seen. 'Looks like Snow White...' she thought, and she was right. The scene was of Snow White holding a bitten apple, circular frmaes around her held the faces of the seven dwarfs, near the outsude were similar frames that had pictures of various woodland creatures all of which gave off a green glow.  
  
"Man, is this weird or what?" she said to the darkness.  
  
Lia walked over to the edge of the platform and looked downward, it looked as if she was on a pillar that extended into blackness, in various places there were more circlular frames with stained glass pictures of what looked like flowers. There was a loud thud and she turned around quickly, fists balled to protect herself.  
  
Three stone bases had appeared with the same strange insignia upon the faces, each with a weapon upon it that seemed to float in thin air that seemed to be illuminated by a spotlight that came from the darkness itself. Lia walked cautiously to one with a sword upon it, she went to touch the sword and as forefinger touched the light surrounding it a voice appeared in her mind.  
  
'Power sleeps within you. If you give it form...It will give you strength.'  
  
Lia withdrew her hand, gave a questioning look and shoved her hand back in a took the sword. She pulled it out of the light which dimmed noticeably and held it, one hand on the hilt and the other of the flat of the blade. The hilt was beautiful, braided blue cloth made the grip and it had gold metal at the bottom and connecting the sword. The blade though was something different all together, it gave off an ethereal glow. She looked beyond the blade and noticed a blue scabbard with silver vines twining around it that wasn't there before. She picked it up her right hand, the sword still in the left and slid the sword into the scabbard  
  
She kept the blade by her side and walked over to the base that held a staff or wand. She too pulled this one out of its light, and held it. The top of the wand was in the form of an clear white orb, it was atop a holder the was brown that curved around the orb making it look like a cresent moon, the shaft of the wand was a dull blue with gold bands near the base of the holder and the bottom. Suddenly it glowed and extended into a staff, which startled Lia enough to drop it. It stopped glowing and she picked up the staff which looked almost exactly as it did as when it was a wand only longer.  
  
Lia walked over to the last base now lugging a staff and sword that were both quite heavy. Lia layed down the sword and staff, and pulled out the sheild that turned as it floated. The sheild had to be twice as heavy as the staff and sword combined, but Lia still held it tightly by its sides without drooping. She turned it around are fully so she could look at it in full. The face of the sheild which was blue lined with silver. In the blue center were green leaves with silver veins and branches that curved into a 'U' shape that spiraled at the ends. In between the u was a disfigured heart that was seperated in five paces with black outlining.  
  
She turned it to the back and grabbed the two brown leather bands and slipped them over her shoulders like a backpack. Lia wavered a bit at the new weight on her back but kept her balance, and picked up the rest of her equipment in her right hand.  
  
"Just like school without the books.' she laughed.  
  
Lia slid her sword in its scabbard behind her back to hang in the leather bands, and switched her staff into her left hand. The base in which she was infront of shuddered and sunk into the platform, even when they had dissapeared the platform still shook violently. Lia tried to steady herself on the platform but to no avail and she crashed backwards onto her rump. The platform suddenly gaveway and shattered into peices and Lia went back tothe increasingly familiar feeling of falling.  
  
~*~  
  
A picture, similar to the last platform Lia was on spiraled into focus as she floated upside-down. As she drew nearer she righted herself somehow and touched down her bare feet onto the new platform. Amazingly enough her new 'friends' stayed with her but became no more lighter than before.  
  
This new platform still seemed a pillar like before, but this time had a picture of Cinderella. Around the picture of Cinderella are five clearly visible circular pictures of white seemed like a castle colored white with a blue background. One picture was behind Cinderella but Lia couldn't quite make out what it was. Around the near the outside of the platform were smaller circles with pictures of a man kneeling before a woman whose leg was lifted slightly.  
  
"It's funny, this sorta reminds me of..."  
  
Lia couldn't finish her sentence when the same voice appeared in her head.  
  
'You've gained the power to fight. Now draw your sword for you now can protect yourself and others.'  
  
Lia pulled her sword from the scabbard and replaced it with her staff and swung her sword experimently.  
  
'There will be times you have to fight...Keep your light strong.'  
  
The voiced stopped. 'Keep my light strong? What is that supposed to mean?' thought Lia with an aggrivated snort. The picture seemed to stir and Lia pulled herself from her thoughts, black splotches took shape on the face of the platform and moved. Suddenly they pulled themselves from the picture and opened glowing yellow eyes. The creatures had an animal like stance and had antennas which swayed as they danced and made bizarre squeks as if yelling at Lia. Lia crouched into a fighting position and looked around nervously at the rapidly appearing creatures. One of the black creatures lunged for Lia who quickly dodged it and swung her sword atomatically cutting in two, spilling green orbs everywhere.  
  
The rest of the creatures retreated back into the picture and disappeared. Lia looked around once again and went to pick up the green orbs. As soon as she touched one, it disappeared but made Lia feel stronger and healthier. Lia gave a victorious yell and bounced happily despite the sheild and staff on her back. Unbeknownst to Lia, another creature formed from a black splotch crawled mischievously around her. More started to appear and gave loud yelps as they were dragged into dark portals much like Lia was. Lia swung around, sword still at hand, more balck holes appeared and closed her in. The stretch farther, covering the whole platform. Lia started to sink into the hole and clawed at the air to get out as one would do if they were caught in quicksand. She felt like she was drowning. Her head was finally pulled under and Lia struggled in the darkness.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia felt something press hard against her back. Lia opened her eyes and looked around, yet another platform. Only this one didn't look at all like the last ones. This one had various shapes, some of moons and stars, hearts and butterflies. It was so bright it hurt Lia's eyes which had become so accustomed to the darkness. Bright yellows and reds, light blue and turquoise white and black.  
  
"Wow, makes you wish you had sunglasses..." said Lia as she tried to shield her eyes.  
  
She walked tothe edge of the platform and looked down, again the same thing greeted her eyes. Lia turned around and saw a transparent brown door. As she walked closer she notcied the intricate pattern on the top of the double doors that came to a point that looked like a crown. Gold twined itself in various patched, blue and red jewels appear ever so often.  
  
Lia lifted her hand to the door and it pressed her hand to it, it became solid. 'Whoa! That was cool.' she thought. She put her hand on the knob of the door and turned, but it wouldn't budge. She turned it again and it opened slightly, Lia stepped one foot inside and fell.  
  
~*~  
  
Sora looked up at the sky from atop a house in Traverse Town. The neverending black sky still loomed overhead. 'Will it ever be day?' he thought with a sigh.  
  
"Hey Sora!" yelled Leon " You'd better get down here quick, it's almost time to eat!"  
  
"Alright! Be right there!" yelled Sora back with a grin.  
  
Leon flipped his brown hair out of his face and walked back into the shadows. Sora took one last look at the sky and hopped down with a thud and ran after the retreating form of Leon.  
  
~*~  
  
Riku gave a disgusted snort, he would teach that stupid Sora. His face wrinkled into an aggrivated frown and he turned to stalk off into the depths of Hallow Bastion.  
  
As he trugged down one of the winding corridors, Maleficent appeared beside him, dwarfing him as usual. Riku payed no attention to her appearance which further angered him.  
  
"I feel a disturbance in the worlds, something is coming Riku." she said followed by a wry smile  
  
"And." was Riku's offhanded reply.  
  
"Whatever it is, good or bad, I want it nomatter what." she replied giving him a knowing eye.  
  
"And what would this have to do with me?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.  
  
"I want you to go and get whatever it is, it will appear in Traverse Town, if Sora gets in your way, dispose of him quickly." ordered Maleficent.  
  
Riku gave an annoyed growl and walked faster down the corridor, he had to get away from Maleficent before he hit her, which would grant unwanted consiquences. What did this do for Kairi? He didn't suppose it would help her at all and was still considering whether or not to actually do it. Well, who knows there may be something up Maleficents sleeve, even still there could be another troop to the already growing dark army.  
  
Riku gave one of his trademark smirks and continued his was to Traverse Town.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Right then. Thanks to a certain reviewer, I finally got off my lazy arse and did some work on the second chapter to Otherworld. GO ME! I added some characters so far, but be ready for heart pounding action....Sooner or later. Thank you to all my reviewers and flamers out there! *echo* Uh again, please review. Flamers are still welcome but again, be creative.  
  
Got anyone with good ideas out there? Please tell me, I'd be glad to add something of everyones in to my fic, and yes you will get credit. IDEAS PLEASE!  
  
(P.S.: Sorry for any typing errors or bad use of puntuation...I'll continue to try harder!)  
  
~Mandala (CaitSith11093@aol.com)  
  
TBC 


	3. Not a Dream

DISCLAIMER: *Ahem* Through out this fanfic there will be many characters and items that are in video games, I do not own any one of them, the only thing I can ever take credit for is my original characters and other ideas put into this fanfic. All characters from games probably are owned and liscensed by Squaresoft or their own respective companies.  
  
I do not get paid for the creation of this fanfic (wish I did though).  
  
But:  
  
I write this fanfic to amuse readers.  
  
I write this fanfic to show the world how bad my spelling is.  
  
I write this fanfic because it was the only other thing to do at 11:30 at night.  
  
I write this fanfic becasue I have no other way to express my gratitude to all of the writers/animators of great games and animes.  
  
(Note: Because of the fact that italic writing won't show up on Fanficiton.net I will be putting dreams and other special visions after this symbol *** )  
  
Content Warning: (If any) In this 'fic there is mild use of foul language and some humor that would be considered innapropriate for younger children also, there might be so romance (still in progress with the deatails) but nothing is for certain...  
  
~Have fun and don't sue!  
  
Otherworld: The Begining  
  
Chapter 3  
  
~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
Cold and unfamiliar ground greeted Lia as she slowly awoke blinking her eyes rapidly. "Where in the heck am I?" she mumbled. The pointed end of her staff grinded cruelly into her back and made her fidget more. "Ouch!" she yelped as she pulled the wand out of its uncomfortable position. She held it in her hand for a moment, "I guess I wasn't dreaming after all..." Lia sighed. She stood up and brushed dust and gravel from herself and shivered, "Where are a pair of shoes when you need em'?" she swore silently.  
  
Lia poked around for her sheild and sword which lay in in various places, the sword hanging from its scabbard on the side of a crate and the sheild inside of a shmushed box. She organized her equipment on her back still grasping the shrunken staff until everything became settled again. As far as she could see she was in an alley, a big alley by the looks of it. Her head tilted upward to the endless night sky and shivered again as a cool breeze passed over her.  
  
"Now for this wand...I guess this is good until I have some important use for it. Travel sized!" she smiled thoughtfully. Lia cleared her throat, "Well, there no time like the present. Onward troops!" she marched her way to the edge of the alley where she looked around into an open courtyard of somekind. 'Not many people here.' Lia thought as her eyes wandered across paved ground and she guessed Old English architecture. She wondered over the style of houses when a group of four people in strange clothes stopped in the middle of the courtyard.  
  
~*~  
  
"I just wish Kairi was here." sighed Sora as he walked along side his companions Goofey, Donald and Leon. "Somehow I feel like all of this is my fault." he said as he waved the Wishing Star that he had just received from Geppetto for bringing Pinochio back.  
  
"Don't beat yourself up about it Sora." said Leon as he gave a side glance at Sora who had dropped his head.  
  
Goofy nooded his head vigorously, "That's right Sora, this wasn't your fault, your trying to save her." then ended with a loud K-yuk. Donald was about to nod his head and say his part when he noticed something poking out from the alleyway.  
  
Donald walked a little faster until he caught up with the group, "Didn't you notice the something in the alley?" he whispered to them when he caught up. "Yeah, I saw something glitter then go black." said Leon in a suspicious voice. Sora and Goofy looked at them both questioningly, "Saw what?" asked Sora. Donald looked up at Sora "There was something watching us from the alleyway, it could be another Heartless!". Leon, Goofy, Donald and Sora nodded and stopped. "We need to look inconspicuous so we don't scare whatever it is away, then we can sneak from the back way of the alley and surprise it." whisper Leon, and they started walking again past the courtyard where they turned left into the back entrance of the alley.  
  
~*~  
  
'WHOA! Was that....Nah, couldn't be right?' thought Lia, this was impossible! The boy looked like Sora from Kingdom Hearts, but that was impossible, there is no way she could actually be in the world of Kingdom Hearts..."Wait, that would explain why this town looks so familiar, this has to be..."  
  
~*~  
  
Sora drew forth the Wishing Star and held the hilt with both hands. Goofy, Donald and Leon had all drawn their weapons and took a fighting stance. All four edged closer to the sides of the walls being carefull of the light.  
  
Leon gripped his Gunblade tighter as he saw a haunched over creature, it was shadowed but it looked faintly like a Heartless. They couldn't take any chances. They moved around a tower of stacked crates and some flattened cardboard boxes and came closer to the alleged Heartless.  
  
The creature stirred and looked as if it was going to turn around, Sora quickly raised his Keyblade and brought it down swiftly...  
  
~*~  
  
Lia shook herself from her thoughts and turned slightly to get up; her ear twitched, something was moving behind her. She pulled her arm around her head to grab her sword, 'Must be a Heartless... Please let this be like fighting in the game minus the buttons 'cause I know I can't kill anything bigger than an ant.' she thought pessimistically.  
  
Something big cut through the air towards her, Lia's arm went up to block it almost automatically and the clang of metal against metal cut through the air. Suddenly the pressure of the object attacking her lifted and struck forth again at another angle. Somehow her arm moved and caught it again with her sword, two objects came at her at once and Lia manuvered her body so that one hit the hard stone beneath her while the other was blocked by her sword.  
  
A bright flash of blue light came toward her that was to fast to counter and froze her while another rammed into her and sent her flying into the now dark courtyard. Lia's head hit the metal pole of a street lamp and she blacked out.  
  
~*~  
  
Goofy gave a triumphant yell as he heard the resounding crash of the Heartless that he rammed. Sora looked back at Goofy who gave him a high- five and winked at Donald, Leon just swung his Gunblade around to let the flat of the blade rest against his shoulder.  
  
Sora, Donald and Goofy all gave a yell and danced around a bit and Leon went to investigate the so called Heartless. As one foot fell against the paved courtyard he saw a shadow move lightning fast across the sky, he looked up cautiously and removed the Gunblade from his shoulder. He scanned the darkened area and moved closer to his prize.  
  
He wandered for a moment until he heard the familiar thump of his knee against the edge of a table and gave a slight yelp. He slided for a moment and felt his hand hit one of the many metal lamp posts.  
  
"You all right there Leon?" sounded Goofy from the shadows.  
  
"Yeah, I'm alright!" he yelled back in a strained voice.  
  
Leon felt his way across some of the lower parts of the polls until he heard the pang of a different metal. 'This must be the Heartless...' he thought, he looked up a the black sky and sighed 'This isn't going to make this easy.' Then it hit him, he pulled a small lighter from his pocket 'Gotta thank Yuffie for the little knick-knacks every Christmas.' He flicked the spinner a couple of times and gave a triumphant smirk when it lit. He shined it over the figure before him and drewback slightly.  
  
"Guys, I don't think that was a Heartless."  
  
~*~  
  
*** Lia lifted herself from a damp cold rock she was apparently laying on and took in her surroundings. She was in a cave of some sorts, and by the looks of it nothing was there. A light fog hung over the area clouding Lia's vision though she could faintly see other rocks like the one she was on now.  
  
She squinted through the fog, something was coming at her. Water around her sloshed lazily against the rock Lia was occuping and water dripped in the distance. Still the object drew closer. Everything became still, even the water had stopped.The figure drew closer and stopped.  
  
"Come closer, for I cannot." it spoke.  
  
Lia shook her head, "Whoa, I can do alot of things, but walking on water is a bit much don't ya' think?". The figure didn't move and Lia shuffled her feet nervously.  
  
"If you beleive it, it will happen."  
  
Lia laughed nervously, "Uh, right whatever you say." She edged closer to the water and tapped her foot on the surface making a large ripple appear. Lia shook her head, there was no way she could do this. She shut her eyes tightly and leaped.  
  
Nothing. Lia shivered and opened her eyes, she was actually standing on water! Her feet made large ripples on the surface but nothing more. Excited, Lia skipped a bit in place and jumped resulting in a spray of water to hit her legs. She looked up and walked farther out to where the figure was. She could just barely see its body...***  
  
~*~  
  
Lia opened her eyes and one eye saw black, "What's going on?" she rasped. Her forehead stung and she raised her arm to it and felt cloth. 'Cloth?', Lia shot up from the place she was resting and knocked back some covers from her chest. Lia noticed she wasn't wearing her regular shirt and looked around quickly. She was in a bright green room with various furniture placed everywhere, a large rug covered the middle of the floor and from what she could see she was in a bed with green covers and an emerald green canopy. From somewhere in the room, soft music drifted and cradled Lia making her wish to fall asleep again. A knock was heard from the door and a girl with a pink dress and braided hair walked in carrying a basin of water.  
  
"I'm glad to see your awake." she said in a polite manner.  
  
She walked over to the bed Lia was laying on and place the basin on a nightstand next to her. She reached her hands over to one of Lia's arms that was still covered by a blanket and Lia flinched. "It's alright, I just need to change your bandages." she reached for Lia's arm again and pulled back the cover. From a pocket on her dress she pulled bandages and ointment and worked on unwrapping Lia's arm. Lia squinted one eye suspiciously at her, "Who are you? And why do I have bandages on me?" she asked in a quieted tone. The girl looked up and smiled, "My name is Aeris and I'm afraid that my friends mistook you for a Heartless." Lia nodded and remembered the sting in her forehead and layed back down.  
  
~*~  
  
"I can't beleive we attacked an innocent!" Donald fumed. Goofy paced about the side of the room and Sora was sitting in a chair with his headin his hands. Leon leaned against a wall one foot propped up with his arms folded on his chest, "Thanks for reminding me Donald." sighed Leon. Goofy stopped his pacing, "At least she's woke up, from what Aeris had told us when she went in." pointed out Goofy cheerfully.  
  
"But we still attacked her, we didn't even think first." said Sora from between his hands.  
  
Leon, Goofy and Donald all stopped and stared at Sora. "We didn't even think about what we were doing, she's probably in alot of pain right now too." sighed Goofy. All resumed again with their heads down until the went to bed later.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia opened one eye and rubbed lamely at her bandaged left arm, " Yep, this isn't a dream." she thought dryly.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Got the third chapter up! Yeah! Sorry that it took me so long to put it up, but I had to go to Miami for a family gathering. I promise to add the adventurous stuff in the next chapter and add the bit about the Mulan world too. As always, thanks to all of my reviewers for their encouragement and info. Flamers still welcome but be creative!  
  
Anyone with an idea to spare? If you want something to happen in my story that you didn't see in the game, please share! I'd be more than happy to add a lil' bit of everyones into my story and you will get credit when it will appear in the chapter.  
  
(P.S.: Again, sorry for any typing errors or bad use of punctuation.)  
  
~Mandala (CaitSith11093@aol.com)  
  
TBC 


	4. Interesting

DISCLAIMER: *Ahem* Through out this fanfic there will be many characters and items that are in video games, I do not own any one of them, the only thing I can ever take credit for is my original characters and other ideas put into this fanfic. All characters from games probably are owned and licensed by Squaresoft or their own respective companies.  
  
I do not get paid for the creation of this fanfic (wish I did though).  
  
But:  
  
I write this fanfic to amuse readers.  
  
I write this fanfic to show the world how bad my spelling is.  
  
I write this fanfic because it was the only other thing to do at 11:30 at night.  
  
I write this fanfic because I have no other way to express my gratitude to all of the writers/animators of great games and animes.  
  
(Note: Because of the fact that italic writing won't show up on Fanficiton.net I will be putting dreams and other special visions after this symbol *** )  
  
Content Warning: (If any) In this 'fic there is mild use of foul language and some humor that would be considered inappropriate for younger children also, there might be so romance (still in progress with the details) but nothing is for certain...  
  
~Have fun and don't sue!  
  
Otherworld: The Beginning  
  
Chapter 4  
  
~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
Aeris walked out from the room where her 'guest' was being treated. She held a bowl of warm water and used bandages, this was the sixth day since she had last talked to Lia and though she seemed to be getting better, she still had an awful amount of bruises and had gotten a high fever.  
  
She leaned against the wooden door that separated the rooms and Aeris put her hand to her aching forehead, "The faster she heals, the better." she sighed. Aeris lifted off the door and walked into the hallway down to wash out the bowl and gather more bandages.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia looked out of the window in the room, her arms curled protectively in her lap and looked up at the endless night sky. The stars blinked lazily in her view twinkling in a far off manner, 'Like I wish I was...' she thought sadly.  
  
For the past couple of nights she had been having the same dream over and over, the same dream she had first arrived here. Her legs shifted uncomfortably and she swung them around the edge of the seat near the window so she wouldn't have to stare at the depressing sky. She stared at the small dresser that elevated a lamp Aeris had so kindly left.  
  
Lia stood up, wavering a bit as her weight shifted from one leg to another. 'I really need to get out of here, there is absolutely no reason I of all people should be cooped up like this, injury or no injury!' Lia thought with a huge smile, she limped to the closet in one of the corners and searched through it for a good pair of clothes.  
  
Lia searched through various garments when she came upon her own clothes. Her white tank top with ripped slightly where the straps met the shirt, and her jeans were torn in three places and one pocket was partially ripped off, 'Great, just great.' she thought. She searched in the closet and pulled out a shorts made of blue jean material with three buttons in place of the zipper and a bright red tanktop with a black disfigured heart in its center. She slipped out of the pajamas she was wearing and put the shorts and shirt on and brushed her hair thoroughly. Lia searched through the closet again for some shoes and a small bag caught her eye; the bag was a dull purple drawstring bag with the ends of the pull strings frayed from age. The bag was somewhat heavy, Lia up- ended it on the floor and small balls rolled out with 'MUNNY' printed in bold letters on them, there must have been three hundred of the little balls too.  
  
Lia shrugged, scooped all of them back into the bag and tied the string onto her jeans. 'Now, where are my weapons? Who knows when those things try to attack me again.' , Lia searched around the room and poked under chairs, tables until she came to the bed. She got onto her knees and looked under the bed, she pulled her head back and searched around for her shield, sword and staff in the darkened area underneath the bed. Her hand slapped dully against a hard metal object, she smiled and grabbed onto one the edges.  
  
Her shield glittered dully in the soft light from the lamp on the dresser Aeris had left from her last visit. As she pulled the remainder of the shield from the bed Lia's sword was dragged out too by a long piece of gold braided cord that met in a fancy knot that was tied to a leather strap on the back of the shield. Lia pulled apart the tie, and swung the shield behind her back and slipped the sword in also.  
  
"Now for my staff..." she whispered with a bright-eyed smile.  
  
Lia searched the whole area of the room and it clicked in her head, she had seen Aeris leave it in one of the drawers of the nightstand. She crawled diligently and opened the top drawer to her prize; Lia grabbed her staff and shot up ignoring the sharp pain from the many bruises on her leg. Lia walked over to the four paned windows and opened it to its full extent and looked down at the seemingly familiar alleyway below her. She looked down at the stone before her and grimaced, 'This is going to hurt a little...". Lia swung a leg over the edge of the window and then another, Lia stuck her head out by crouching and hopped down.  
  
She landed with a thud, followed by another much louder one as she fell backwards onto her rump. Lia's feet stung and she felt like she had just crossed a sea of needles. She shook her head and stood up shakily, grasping at the wall nearest to her. She looked up cross-eyed and saw two cloudy windows, nodded and stumbled down the alley.  
  
~*~  
  
A small black shadow moved swiftly down the side of a wall as it watched the rapidly disappearing for of the girl it was assigned to watch. It took for on the top of a building and twitched its head slightly and looked up at the faraway clock tower and bowed slightly.  
  
Its master had gotten the message... She was one the move, alone.  
  
~*~  
  
Sora tightly grasped the bag of groceries Aeris had sent the group out for. Ironically, he was the only one carrying bags. Everyone was silent, the only noise being made was of the voices of scurrying children and adults talking amongst of to themselves in the now crowded shopping area. Since Sora had closed the Door to this world with the Keyblade, everything had seemed to return to normal other than the occasional Heartless.  
  
Donald gave a raspy laugh as Leon cracked a joke Sora either didn't understand or didn't hear. Goofy gave an appalled face and shook his head and looked at Sora with a lop-sided smile. Sora looked up at his tall companion and gave the widest grin he could manage. Goofy K-yucked a couple of times that resembled a laugh.  
  
The small group strolled down the fronts of many shops, turning down all the open invitations to warmer spaces. Leon stopped them infront of the coffee shop and led them inside. He walked past a small booth that had a sign literally saying "Wait!" and sat down at a table near the front window.  
  
Sora gratefully dropped the heavy bags he was carrying and sat down with a content smile. "So, why are we here Leon? Does Aeris need some coffee?" asked Sora with closed eyes. Leon set gray eyes on Sora, "No, but I'm cold and need a warm drink and so does Donald." he said in a matter-of- fact way. Sora nodded with his eyes still closed and stifled a yawn with a gloved hand.  
  
A waitress approached with four menus covering her face. She stopped infront of their table and set one menu infront of each of the companions. "I'll have..." Leon started with his head in the menu. "Holy cow! It's Yuffie!" Sora gasped loudly. It was Yuffie; she blushed crimson as she pulled her red apron with yellow striped down tightly to cover her beige shorts. Leon looked up quickly and gave a whole-hearted laugh at the cherry red Yuffie.  
  
"Are you going to order something or are you just going to laugh at me the whole time?!" she yelled loudly causing customers and co-workers to look up quickly at her.  
  
"Ahem, what would you like....sirs." she said in a quieter tone. The group looked into their menus, Donald and Leon both ordering cappuccinos, Goofy ordering an Agrabah Creme and Sora just ordering a Hot Fudge Jungle Sundae. Yuffie sighed begrudgingly and stalked off to put in their orders.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia wandered through the mazes of alleyways and small roads leading to nowhere, passing by many places with weird names that even she couldn't pronounce. She came to a big courtyard much like every other she passed filled with people carrying bags and boxes, "It's the holidays all over again..." she sighed.  
  
Somehow managing her way through the crowded bunch, Lia looked through the glass windows in front of the stores to find what she wanted. Lia came to a store that looked remotely like a shoe store. Just as she stepped one foot inside fifteen people came running out nearly trampling her. Lia coughed and straightened her clothes and walked inside. On wooden floors were painted shapes of what looked like brick that made up a long winding road while the walls reflected the colors of the city at night and a navy blue ceiling with starts and a gigantic moon in the center. All together were no big change from being outside.  
  
As she wandered down the aisles, Lia started to wonder if these people had oh, how could she put it? Normal shoes. Nearly every pair she found was either three times the size of her foot or had such a bizarre shape to it that she couldn't fit her foot into it to begin with.  
  
She trudged through the store she was nearing the back when she noticed what in her opinion were normal shoes. Though the majority were tasteless high-heeled boots or sandals while some were cross- training and running. Lia picked out two pairs that somewhat matched her clothes, low cut boots made of a very flexible leather of some kind colored black and a pair of running shoes black also with splotches of red ever so often. Happy with her choices, she went to the front desk and paid the small amount of 55 'munny' and a very curious smile from the clerk.  
  
~*~  
  
As Lia started out from the shoe store she was again almost trampled by a stampede of customers, "They should really get bigger doors." she coughed as she regained her breath. Lia wandered again, this time looking for a clothes store now carrying a bag of shoes as well as her wand. She was looking upward into the sky when she was hit by someone's low flying bag and knocked into a store; Lia skidded to a halt under a coat rack and stood up.  
  
'Kind of ironic, huh?' she thought giving curious glances into various parts of the store.  
  
She wandered to a part of the store that had bags and backpacks and looked, she found a black backpack that had a square opening with a zipper that had the same disfigured heart as her shirt. Lia shrugged; at least it was roomy. Lia looked down through some of the aisles and found one with brushes and hair accessories and toiletries, she picked out a big pack of hair bands and a circular brush and some of the necessary toiletries. She backtracked to the clothes area and picked out a set of pajamas made up of red and green drawstring plaid pants and a thick white shirt with similar clothes that she was wearing now a pair of long pants, alot of ankle length socks and a watch.  
  
Lia went to the check-out lane and was smushed between two very talkative women that seemed to be talking about what they ate in the morning, how they differentiated between day and night was a mystery to Lia. In her little expedition into the clothing store she spent 195 munny.  
  
She walked outside of the store and stuffed her items into the various pockets, slipped her wand inside of the backpack letting the end stick out but tying it securely and slipping on a pair of socks and put on her running shoes and set her watch by the time on a giant clock tower in the courtyard. Unbeknownst to Lia, she was being watched the whole time not only by Heartless but also Riku.  
  
~*~  
  
Donald yawned and rubbed his stomach as he leaned back in his chair, giving Leon a sidelong glance and Leon nodded. Meanwhile Sora and Goofy were engaged in a fierce thumb war game, Goofy obviously winning.  
  
Yuffie slammed the check onto their table a slight red tinge still visible on her cheeks. "Here you go sirs." she said through clenched teeth, Leon still snickered as she said 'sirs'. Goofy glanced at the check and flipped his thumb giving the upperhand to Sora who was about to pin Goofy's thumb when Leon said "Ok you two, it's time to go."  
  
Sora first stepped foot out side and almost ran into a girl wearing a red tank top, blue shorts and toting a black backpack. The girl stepped backwards slightly and looked up at tramplee. She gasped, and Sora barely heard it as he was grumbling while looking down at his shirt.  
  
Lia stared at Sora and watched in horror as Goofy, Donald and Squall Leonheart walked from behind him. She started to back away and ran into two more people.  
  
"Whoa, sorry 'bout that..." laughed Sora as he started to look up. Leon squinted his eyes at the girl backing away from Sora. "Hey, aren't you the girl..." he started until the girl took off in a sprint.  
  
~*~  
  
Riku watched in amusement as the girl he was tracking ran into his rival Sora. His smiled widened into a malicious grin as he watched her back off quickly as she seemed to be in shock from who she recognized while Sora was still oblivious to the whole thing. She looked up to see Sora new 'friends' and she took off running.  
  
He leaned forward slightly on the spot where he was sitting, blending in perfectly with the black background of the night.  
  
Today was getting good.  
  
  
  
A/N: Oh yeah! Fourth chapter! Sorry it took extremely long but I just had to much homework to do. I know I'm switching Squall to Leon but that's how Sora knows him and Squall is how Lia knows him. Well anywho, I got adventurous, BOOYAH! I'll add the world hopping next chapter and also a bit in Wonderland then off to China (yes, this is my own created world with the characters of Mulan). Reviews please! Flamers always welcome, but be creative.  
  
(P.S.: Sorry for any and all typing errors and bad use of punctuation.)  
  
~Mandala (CaitSith11093@aol.com)  
  
TBC 


	5. Strangers

DISCLAIMER: *Ahem* Through out this fanfic there will be many characters and items that are in video games, I do not own any one of them, the only thing I can ever take credit for is my original characters and other ideas put into this fanfic. All characters from games probably are owned and licensed by Squaresoft or their own respective companies.  
  
I do not get paid for the creation of this fanfic (wish I did though).  
  
But:  
  
I write this fanfic to amuse readers.  
  
I write this fanfic to show the world how bad my spelling is.  
  
I write this fanfic because it was the only other thing to do at 11:30 at night.  
  
I write this fanfic because I have no other way to express my gratitude to all of the writers/animators of great games and animes.  
  
(Note: Because of the fact that italic writing won't show up on Fanficiton.net I will be putting dreams and other special visions after this symbol *** )  
  
Content Warning: (If any) In this 'fic there is mild use of foul language and some humor that would be considered inappropriate for younger children also, there might be so romance (still in progress with the details) but nothing is for certain...  
  
~Have fun and don't sue!  
  
Otherworld: The Beginning  
  
Chapter 5  
  
~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
Lia ran hurriedly down one alley way after the next, dodging left and right to avoid numerous towers of crates. She couldn't think why, but her legs seemed to take on a mind of their own. She moved down the alleys like she knew where she was going, she kept running. The path she was currently on took a sharp left, her shoulder nearly grazing the red brick walls that surrounded her.  
  
The alley broke into an open court of some kind, nothing decorating the barren place except for a lone lamppost to the north of her. Lia guessed she had finally gotten the feeling back into her legs as she sank to the paved ground below her. The ground radiated cold and felt good on Lia's overheated body. Her shield should have restricted her breathing, but she didn't notice all that mattered was getting away from her captors.  
  
"You should have ran from them long ago..." said a voice that seemed to come from the air around her.  
  
Lia pulled herself quickly from the ground and looked around quickly as she swung her arm around her head to pull her sword out and take up a fighting stance. Nothing was there, only the ever-present darkness in this crazed town. Her sword crept down to her side and Lia turned around, this was pointless it was probably only her imagination.  
  
She started to walk away until a cold hand clamped about her shoulder. Lia froze on the spot and turned her head slightly; a robed figure stood behind her, she couldn't see anything past the hood only more darkness.  
  
"Why you stayed with them is a mystery, considering they're the ones that hurt you." the voice was silk in Lia's ears, an elusive memory played in her mind about this stranger but she couldn't quite grasp it. "Do you know why they attacked me?" she asked the cloaked figure, her mind in a daze. "Because they wanted to kill you for being here." the voice whispered. Lia gasped and turned around fully to the figure, her sword dangled uselessly at her side.  
  
Lia's breathing became labored and her heart pounded in her ears blocking out almost all sound. A sharp crack filled the sky followed by the crash of lightning as it began to pour.  
  
~*~  
  
Sora swerved out of the way of a mountain of boxes and continued to run down the alleyway, the rest of his company not far behind, 'Where could she have gone?' Sora stopped and the ground shook as thunder rumbled in the sky. Goofy covered his sensitive ears and Leon groaned as the rain beat down on them, "Where is she?!" he yelled franticly. Sora shook his soaked head and took off running again.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia stood still with fright as the dark figure circled her as if she were a priceless trophy to behold. The figure stopped in its original position infront of her and Lia imagined he, no it took on a thoughtful expression, "You seem pretty scrawny for a so called savior..." it said off- handedly. Lia could almost feel the look of amusement as she raised one of her eyebrows and slightly mouthed the words spoken to her.  
  
'Savior? What the hell is that supposed to mean? And what does it mean by scrawny!'  
  
Lia's shoulder length black hair clung heavily to her face and neck, the pouring rain thoroughly soaking her to the bone. She shivered slightly and averted her gaze upward to the sky, still feeling the burning gaze of the stranger and the warning in the back of her mind.  
  
"No matter... You'll still have to be dealt with." he laughed dryly. Lia's head snapped forward to stare angrily at the cloaked figure, "Be dealt with? You mean kill me?!". The figure laughed again making Lia angrier than the time Cirus showed Lia's crush a note confirming her admiration for him. Her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword with her left hand and took her shield up with her right, throwing the rest of her equipment onto the wet ground.  
  
"That's it chuckles, your going down."  
  
With that, Lia lunged for the figure with her sword flying. The figures cloaked hand went up and he muttered a few incoherent words and red flames shot from his hands. Lia quickly blocked with her shield nearly being flung backwards with the sheer force of the blow. She flung off the rest of the dying flames and lunged for him again to catch him square in the chest, the cowled stranger letting off a loud cry of pain.  
  
~*~  
  
Sora slid more than ran down the rain slicked alleys, Goofy and Donald slipping often while Leon ran with sure-footed steps. Sora heard a scream of agony and he ran faster, Leon two had quickened his pace while Donald and Goofy slidded a bit more as they kicked their jog up a notch or two.  
  
Leon and Sora neck to neck stopped at the entrance of a hidden courtyard with two very wet persons were poised, the girl they had been chasing had a sword of some kind shoved into the middle of the chest of a dark figure Sora immediately recognized. Leon gaze a startled gasp and both drew their weapons.  
  
~*~  
  
The two Lia had been so lucky to have ran into in the first place drew their weapons and looked anxiously at both her and her victim. She quickly pulled her sword out noticing no blood of any shape or form dripping from the gaping hole left by her sword.  
  
"Oh, that's not a good thing is it?" Lia said nervously with an open mouth.  
  
Sora and Leon gave loud gulps and skidded to a halt about a meter away from Lia. "Are you okay? We heard a yell, most likely coming from....that." he said pointing to the cringing figure.  
  
Lia gave an annoyed 'humph' and ran to take a fighting stance next to Sora and Leon. "Ok,on the count of three, we jump the... 'it' and see who can destroy what first." she whispered quickly eyeing the howling figure. The two nodded and took their own stances: Sora crouched down with both hands gripping tightly at the hilt; Leon using one hand to point his sword steadily in the direction of the enemy and Lia clawing for a better grip on her wet shield and her sword glowing faintly in the darkness.  
  
"One...", all three tensed for their battle.  
  
"Two..."  
  
"Thre....."  
  
Lia could barely finish her countdown when two wet masses came hurling towards them. "LOOK OUT!" yelled Goofy franticly but it was too late. Goofy and Donald rammed into the trio knocking them all head first into the enemy, Lia took the opportunity and grasped at the dark shroud the attacker wore and pulled vigorously. She managed to look backwards to where the figure stood last but nothing was there.  
  
~*~  
  
Riku had been watching the scene in the hidden courtyard for sometime, through the rain and his now sopping wet clothes. It was quite hysterical he had to admit, watching her twirl and dance so as not to be hit by Maleficent's minion, but the way she did it made her seem as though she had been a master at that all her life. Not something a mere mortal could ever master.  
  
He scratched his chin thoughtfully, 'Maybe there's something to this little mission after all...' he gave a smirk and jumped into the air and vanished, the only trace of his disappearance was a slight disturbance in the rainfall.  
  
~*~  
  
Sora groaned as he pulled himself from the brick wall on the opposite side of the courtyard. He rubbed ruefully at his stinging backside and lifted himself slowly from the drenched ground and wiped his clothes down. All of the other members of the fly-by crash did the same,each giving his or her own wail of despair as sore limbs shifted into ever more uncomfortable positions.  
  
"For crud's sake, you could have at least given us 10 more seconds before ya'll decided to run us over..." she groaned to the group. Donald walked about in a dazed state for a moment until he tripped over one of Goofy's immense legs waking him up thoroughly. "Watch where your going Goofy!" he yelled from the stone ground below them. Goofy shook his head and mumbled 'sorry' and pulled both Donald and Leon up straight and helped to clean them off.  
  
Lia picked up her belongings and wiped them off as best as she could manage with her hands before putting them back into their correct places on her back, the weight giving off a delightful feeling on her aching back.  
  
Sora, the only one fully recovered thus far quickly tossed a potion to Leon then Goofy and Donald and walked over to his newest acquaintance. He didn't know why but she just kept on popping into his head, it might be the guilt he felt for attacking her but he knew it wasn't love, at least not on the same level of love he had for Kairi, but something about her drew him to her. Whatever the reason, he was going to find out her name.  
  
"Those four must be the most sorriest people I know!" Lia grumbled, 'Or met...' she added. Lia bounced up and down experimentally to make sure she could withstand walking, or running for that matter. A little more than two feet behind her, Sora crept his way slowly and put out his hand to rest on her shoulder. Lia gave a startled yelp and turned with her hand out to slap who ever it was, she must have had good aim that night because she hit him square in the jaw with the palm of her hand.  
  
Sora stumbled backwards holding his hand to his burning face, no one had ever slapped him before. Donald, Goofy and Leon looked up in anger as their best friend was slapped and glared at the startled girl infront of him. Tears stung Sora's eyes and he fought to keep them from falling, the girl gave a 'oh no' that was muffled by the hand she slapped him with and she put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright, I'm sorry but you really startled me their." Sora nodded and dropped his hand, "Um, this might be a bit awkward but...what's your name?" Lia stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, "My name is Lia.".  
  
Sora nodded slowly, "And my name is..." before he could finish Lia blurted out "I know, Sora." He gave a shocked smile and nodded again. All the while, Leon, Goofy and Donald got up and stood behind Sora each giving off their names.  
  
'Well, at least we know each other...' was the only thing Lia could think of then.  
  
~*~  
  
Sora showed Lia the many faces he knew in Traverse Town and told her alot about Destiny Island, Riku, Kairi and the Heartless. Slowly Lia began to understand the small darkness soldiers and their supposed leader, Maleficent.  
  
He even got the time to show her Cid, whom seemed to enjoy Lia's sarcastic attitude more and more each time he saw her. He taught her some of the moves he knew which she soaked up quite quickly and Donald tried to teach her to use her staff, which origins he couldn't figure. Nonetheless she learned the weaker spells and at some point even surpassed the 'great' Donald, after which fondly referring to him as the 'Almighty Ducky One' .  
  
Lia soon grew to like Traverse Town and it's many hidden passages and she soon came upon Merlin and his humble abode. There in secret she practiced her magics more and more.  
  
Aeris got Lia her own room in which to live in, which Lia ultimately did. Lia decorated the plain white room with reds, blues, yellows and grays. The walls were covered in a royal blue with a lighter shade of blue making elaborate spades going up the length of the wall with a band of wood that went around the perimeter of the room. Shimmering red and yellow curtains hung from the two four paned windows both with window seats with blue and silver pillows adding a dark splash of color to the red felt coverings. She had her own writing desk with beautiful carvings of foreign fishes and waves carved into the sides, the handles made of a brass looking metal that was made to look like crashing waves. Three small chairs in the room, one at the desk and two in the corners, each with the same red felt and elaborate carvings as the desk. Her four poster bed held the same carvings only with blue and silver sheets with two nightstand again with the same carvings upon them.  
  
Lia decorated her room with various knick-knacks from different 'worlds' as Sora put them. Secretly she put different weapons in her closet, more favorable weapons included a composite longbow with plumed arrows, a guisarme, a couple of spiked gauntlets, a sling with bullets, a bright silver scimitar, a two-handed broad sword and bastard sword, along with some curios looking vials and pouches. Even after Aeris's complaint about curious looking holes in some of the clothes in Lia's closet, but sooner or later she let it be. On more than one occasion Lia flat out refused to come out saying she was 'mulling over her current situation' which earned her room the honor of being called 'The Cave'.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hey Lia! It's time for breakfast!" Sora yelled into her closed door. Lia awoke with a jolt, shaking off the last remnants of sleep from her body she jumped out of her bed, quickly running into her closet to change into and pair of short blue jeans and a shirt two times her size with a dragon crawling along the sides.  
  
Lia ran down the covered hallway and slid into a large dining room and took a seat on one of the eight chairs present. About ten minutes later, Leon, Goofy and Donald stalked into the room with sleepy faces and took seats around the table still yawning. Suddenly, Yuffie, Aeris and Sora strutted out of the kitchen carrying plates of sausages, pancakes and waffles and set them in the middle of the table and retreated back into the kitchen. The parade of food continued until jams of different assortments were available, butter, creme, three kinds of coffee, tea, syrups of different kinds and anchovies were spread across the table.  
  
Yuffie, Aeris and Sora then plopped themselves down in their own chairs and filled their plates like the rest of the group. Though she had seen it many times before, it still disgusted her as Donald flopped six anchovies onto his syrup drenched waffle and stuffed his face with a satisfied grunt. Lia's lower lip trembled as she fought to keep the contents of her stomach were their supposed to be and not on her lap and plate.  
  
Lia opened her eyes wider and stared as she put three pancakes, a waffle and four sausages on her plate. She pulled a coffee cup close to her and poured some coffee into her cup, dumped some creme in and what Yuffie had described to her as ' The Queen of Hearts brand Sugar Syrup' into her coffee, stirred and drank deeply.  
  
After all of the plates were thoroughly cleaned off and pushed aside, Sora cleared his throat " So are we going back to Wonderland today or what?" Everyone became silent and Donald slowly nodded. Lia looked questionlingly at Sora and then to Donald. Suddenly Aeris asked politely whose turn it was for dishes and three out of seven pointed to Lia while Leon pretended to cough, fitting in what sounded like 'Lia' into it.  
  
Everyone scuttled out of the dining room leaving soiled plates behind and a dumbfounded Lia, 'What the hell is Wonderland?'  
  
  
  
A/N: I KNOW, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T ADD WONDERLAND OR CHINA! I promise to add it next chapter but was a little late with this one so I decided 'Just screw it' and stopped. DAMN TEACHERS AND THEIR HOMEWORK! Er, sorry to all the teachers out their that may be reading. Next chapter will be posted sometime during Winter Break that starts this Friday for me. Reviews please! Flamers always welcomed.  
  
If you have any ideas for Otherworld: The Beginning, please contact me from the e-mail address below. Thank you.  
  
Happy Holidays! Share the love... ::fart:: Not that love.  
  
(P.S.: Sorry for any and all typing errors and bad use of punctuation. Also, beta wanted, preferably someone with experience. I need someone to check over my story, cause I don't. Apply for the position in your review.)  
  
~Mandala (CaitSith11093@aol.com)  
  
TBC 


	6. Down the Rabbit Hole

DISCLAIMER (The extended version):  
  
Mandala: *Ahem* Through out this fanfic there will be many characters and items that are in video games, I do not own any one of them, the only thing I can ever take credit for is my original characters and other ideas put into this fanfic.  
  
Little angst demon: You must give us the precious!  
  
Mandala: Uh....what?  
  
Little angst demon: THE PRECIOUS! (whisper, whisper) The characters you dolt.  
  
Mandala: Hey! That's not funny! (starts to pummel the little weirdo)  
  
Little muse of Sappiness: (exasperated sigh) Well, since those two are so intent on beating the snot outta one another, I guess I'll have to finish... All characters from games mentioned in this fic are probably owned and licensed by Squaresoft or their own respective companies blah, blah and so on...  
  
Little angst demon: The precious! (gets thrown into the muse o' sappiness) AHHHHHH!  
  
Mandala: (swings a cracked wooden baseball bat around ) Argh! We're not finished you little...  
  
(cough) Uh, anyways...  
  
I do not get paid for the creation of this fanfic nor do I own them...Anyone want to give them to me???  
  
But:  
  
I write this fanfic to amuse readers.  
  
I write this fanfic to show the world how bad my spelling is.  
  
I write this fanfic because it was the only other thing to do at 11:30 at night.  
  
I write this fanfic because I have no other way to express my gratitude to all of the writers/animators of great games and animes.  
  
(Note: Because of the fact that italic writing won't show up on Fanficiton.net ((at least to my knowledge, which by the way, isn't alot)) I will be putting dreams and other special visions after this symbol *** )  
  
Content Warning: (If any) In this 'fic there is mild use of foul language and some humor that would be considered inappropriate for younger children also, there might be so romance (still in progress with the details) but nothing is for certain...I am soooo evil.  
  
~Have fun and don't sue!  
  
Otherworld: The Beginning  
  
Chapter 6  
  
~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~  
Lia washed and put away the dishes still wondering about Wonderland. The name stuck in her head, almost as if she heard it before, before... She was attacked. Alot of her life she could remember, like her full name, where she came from, movies, friends, songs and so on, but she every now and then she would draw a blank. She vaguely remembered playing video games like... and playing a game... Ugh! There it was again!  
  
She shook off the depressing feeling and ran to her room to change out of her pajamas. Still the feeling remained; she couldn't wait to see Wonderland.  
  
~*~  
  
"There is no way you are going with us; it's too dangerous!" yelled Donald franticly, waving his arms around to emphasize his order. "No!No!No!NO!" he yelled again at the pleading girl. She had been begging him for the past hour as he was trying to get everything settled for the trip back to the disturbed world.  
  
All the while, Goofy watched anxiously at the two giving slight chuckles ever so often at the scene. Lia was never one to beg, nor was Donald one to give in.  
  
"FINE! I won't go then!" Lia huffed as she stomped away from the Gummi Garage. Donald shook his fuming head and snapped at Goofy to get back to work on the ship.  
  
~*~  
  
It had been a couple of weeks before Maleficent had let him out of that horrid castle of despair to wander about the worlds, disaster striking the lowly places he visited. Tasks, that was all Maleficent had given him since the first time he had seen the girl Lia, mostly his work involving finding out where she came from, a mystery to all but herself.  
  
He huffed slightly, the matter of waking Kairi was still at hand though, and Maleficent was making no move to obtain the other Princesses of Heart. This above all annoyed him the most.  
  
Riku traveled to Traverse Town and sat in his now frequently visited perch outside of Lia's window, just beyond the view of the widow itself. She had stomped in quite abruptly, she seemed deeply disturbed or pissed off at something. He hopped a little closer on the tile roof and strained to hear her voice, something he had become accustomed to in the last few days.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia folded her arms across her chest as she layed down upon her bed, fuming silently seemingly for hours. He had no respect what so ever; he was acting like such a, such a PARENT! Her cheeks turn a deep red as she thought, he had no right to *not* let her go in the first place!  
  
Lia shot up from her bed, "Yeah! That's right! There's nothing that duck-billed howler can do from letting go to Wonderland!" She nodded once and grabbed her backpack.  
  
~*~  
  
'Wonderland? So that's where they're going.' Thought Riku slyly. He arched an eyebrow, why would they need to go back there? Riku took off into the air to tell Maleficent of his findings but stopped himself, why shouldn't he go to Wonderland to 'greet' them himself? Riku gave a dark chuckle and vanished into the night for Wonderland.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia grinned at her handiwork, her backpack was half full with things she would take. Lia clambered into her now messy closet; she pulled from the very back wall her sword, shield and wand as well as a couple of pouches of magical stuffs.  
  
She gave a wide grin as she stole out of her room, slipping quietly past the rooms where her friends slept. Lia moved freely in the open air of the town, she took a quick look at her watch. ' Well, since it's only 9:47 I could at least wander around a bit.  
  
As soon as she got out of the cramped hotel her mind wandered and she started to sing a bit of a song she heard on the radio once:  
  
" Sometimes I get so weird I even freak myself out, I laugh myself to sleep it's my lullaby..."  
  
She stopped for a moment, 'Uh, how did it go?' she searched for a moment in her cluttered mind. "Oh yeah!".  
  
"Is it enough to love? Is it enough to breathe? Somebody rip my heart out leave me here to bleed..."  
  
Lia laughed at her lapse of sanity and continued on through the maze of buildings. She walked down the stone roads of Traverse Town still humming the song. She passed familiar house, searching the rooftops expectantly. Suddenly a crack sounded in the heavens above, and light illuminated the town with the brilliance of the sun itself.  
  
Lia stared disappointedly at the sky; "You could have waited at least another hour or so!"she yelled into the falling sky. She ran hurriedly to the safety of a striped overhead canopy that covered the front of a nameless shop. 'Geeze, I might as well go back.....NO! I won't give Donald the reward of seeing me fail!' she pumped a fist into the air and gave a huge smirk until, of course her stomach growled louder than the falling rain.  
  
She grabbed her stomach tightly looking left to right to spot a diner. ' I need food....' she thought miserably. She walked clumsily down the street till she came onto Cid's humble abode. Lia pushed the door inward, and she saw Cid look up in question. "Food, must get fooood." she mumbled in-between stomps. Cid glared at her, "Oh boy, it's the walking dead." he growled in a sarcastic tone. Lia eyed him angrily and leaned heavily onto the polished brown counter top infront of him, crossing both arms infront of her to lay her head down.  
  
Cid crossed his arms thoughtfully, "Wow, and I thought only Sora would bother asking *me* for food."  
  
Lia stared up at him from underneath her drenched brown bangs and growled at him, "I don't need a lecture, I need food...". Cid sighed and swung the folding door that let him exit the back counter area and went through a door that Lia supposed went to the kitchen. "What do you want?" Cid yelled from the kitchen, Lia rolled her head left to right in her arms, " Beef and bell peppers!" (1).  
  
~*~  
  
Lia pushed her plate forward and tipped off the rest of her soda, "That was good...for an old man." she commented to the still eating Cid. Cid pushed his plate forward also and glared at Lia, "So what brings you here, other than food?" he asked with an annoyed tone. Lia leaned back farther in her chair and shifted her gaze around Cid's dining room/ kitchen area, "I want to go to Wonderland, but Donald won't let me." she stated bluntly. Cid's eyes widened by a fraction of an inch as he stared at Lia, "And he's got good reason too, you could get hurt."  
  
'I know that.' thought Lia.  
  
"I know that, but I still want to go." said Lia, her voice taking on a serious tone.  
  
"You might get attacked by the Heartless, plus you have no way to get onto the Gummi Ship unless..." he trailed off for a moment, "Unless you sneak aboard." he paused again. He watched Lia push the remains of her meal into a very small pile with her fork, her face remained unreadable, "That's what you plan on doing, huh?". Lia looked up at Cid, "I want to go, and neither you nor Donald will keep me." she said fiercely.  
  
"I'm not going to stop you, so you don't have to worry about that..." he trailed off again, "Do you need any supplies?".  
  
Lia looked up from her plate and gave the older man a curious smile, "How could you help?" she asked suspiciously. Cid stuck up his nose and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well, if you don't need it..." he trailed off until Lia yelled 'yes' into his face. He continued "I could help you get some extra parts Sora sold to me to make you your own Gummi Ship.  
  
Cid smiled inside as he watched Lia's face go from extremely pissed off to an ever increasing smile. "How long until it will be ready?" she asked worriedly. Cid smiled, "Well, it will take me about....oh, I'd say 2 and a half hours.", Lia smiled "Ok, I'll be back!" and ran off.  
  
~*~  
  
Lia gave off a smile of a spoiled child and stuffed her pack with the rest of the potions she had bought. Cid folded his arms over his chest and gave a lopsided smirk as he watched Lia pack, 'The kids got determination, I 'll give her that." . Lia put her fists on her hips as she finally managed to zip up her back, then turned to Cid and gave him and smile followed by a thumbs up.  
  
"Now remember, once you get into the shop, you stay along the walls until you can get near it..." Cid started, the Lia cut him off "Yeah, yeah, then pop the doors and climb inside. You told me at least thirty times already." she smiled. Lia situated her belongings onto her back and went forward to the door with Cid following behind. Before she went out, she turned around and surprised Cid with a tight hug that acquainted him with the pointy end of her wand.  
  
"Thanks you old goat... for everything." Lia said as she pulled herself off of Cid. He opened one of her small hands and dropped a key into her opened palm.  
  
Cid smiled, " Don't you go and get yourself to beaten up by the flowers and come crying to me ya little munchkin." he said with a hint of sarcasm. "Always the pessimist aren't we?" laughed Lia as she opened the door into the town.  
  
~*~  
  
Maria ran her fingers through her hair, the strands falling back into place among the rest of her graying hair and closed her eyes as she rested against the door of Lia's room. It had been three weeks since Lia had left, and it wasn't getting any easier to deal with. When she had first come home that night three weeks ago and noticed Lia wasn't there she dismissed it as her going off to one of her friends houses without telling her again. But then it worried her when she didn't call or anything.  
  
She stood by the phone all that night to wait out her confirmation call from Lia saying that she had 'just wanted some fresh air', but nothing came. The next morning she had called the police, alot of help that did though. They took a look around and asked for any reasons why she would have left and just said she might have ran off...but that couldn't be true.  
  
Yes, it had been hard after her father left them alone when Lia was only three. And the many moves we made around the country, but she would have told her if anything was bothering her right?  
  
Maria opened her blood shot blue eyes and sighed, maybe Lia did run away to leave her just as her father did. She lifted herself off of the door and took one look around her daughters room and went into her own room. She flopped down upon her bed and opened her nightstand to take out Lia's birth certificate, the whole thing worn with age and bent on the edges. Every night since her husband, Marcus left, she would take it out and look at it just so she wouldn't end up going crazy from the pain.  
  
She read the faded black printed letters:  
  
Name: Lilith Liana Valentine  
  
Gender: Female  
  
Date of Birth: September 10, 1989  
  
Blood Type: O-  
  
Weight at birth: 7 lbs. 6 oz.  
  
Length at birth: 17 14/18 inches  
  
Maria sighed and pushed the piece of paper back into the drawer and closed it. She turned her body and rested her head against a pillow and snuggled into it and sobbed softly.  
  
"Maybe... she did run away."  
  
~*~  
  
Slowly a small figure made its way through the neon lit area that was the Third District, and into the double doors of the Gummi Garage. Lia smiled as she felt along the walls of the darkened walls, occasionally tripping and sliding. 'Geeze, why do those darned mogs turn off the lights when they leave?!', she felt along a little longer until she could see the faint outline of two Gummi ships. Lia's eyes widened, which one was which? She stared a little harder and walked up slowly to one, she peered into the glass cockpit and shook her head, 'Nope, three seats.'  
  
Lia climbed into the small cockpit of her Gummi Ship and looked at amount of buttons and the range of sizes among them on the arm length panel. "Argh, I could have at least gotten a book of directions with this hunk-a-junk!" she grumbled, Lia flopped her weapons and her pack onto a seat behind the drivers and searched along the bottom side of the control panel for some kind of compartment. 'If cars have side compartments, then these things should have em' to!', Lia smacked the bottom of the panel and searched for a button in the dark.  
  
She smiled evily as she found a button, assuming of course this was the button for the darn thing. She pressed the button, and was smacked in the back of the head by the falling drawer. Lia pulled herself from her increasingly uncomfortable position on the floor and picked up the upper part of her body up so it could rest on the seat while her legs flared up over the seat itself. She smiled slightly, at least Cid put a light in glove compartment. She lifted a small book out of the drawer and read the title, 'Gummi Ships for Idiots'.  
  
'Ha ha , very funny. Ho ho, it is to laugh.' she thought with a angry sneer. Lia shifted herself until she sat upright in the drivers seat, she flipped through the pages of the book carefully until she stopped:  
  
Chapter 7: How to use the Gummi Ship.  
  
World Selection Screens: From this screen, you can select your world destination and access the Gummi Garage menu. Choose your destination with the directional buttons directed at the lower left hand side of the panel, then press the 'Enter' button that is located on the very right of the directional buttons, to depart. Press the 'View' button located in the very top of the directional buttons to view a selected world. Press the red 'Cancel' button located on the bottom most area near the directional buttons to cancel. Press the 'Garage' button on the very end of the panel on your right to access the Gummi Garage Menu.  
  
While in Flight/Flight Screen: To move the Gummi Ship, move the steering controls to move the flight panels on the wings to the direction you want to go. While in flight you will encounter items, obstacles and enemies while flying. You can use equipped weapons by pressing the bright red circular buttons on top of the controls to shoot or deploy the weapons. When a Scan-Gummi is equipped onto the Gummi Ship, a radar will be displayed on the Flight Screen. The better the Scan-Gummi, the larger the area covered by the radar. At all times, a 'weapon sights' is displayed on screen. To lock onto an enemy, press down on the blue buttons on the steering controls. Also on screen is the Gummi ship' Gauges.  
  
Gummi Ship's Gauges: Firing lasers, using a net, and so forth all consume power, which decreases the Gummi ship's power gauge (PWR). The armor gauge (ARM) decreases when the ship crashes into obstacles or enemy ships, or when it's hit by enemy fire. If the gauge reaches zero, the world selection screen appears. The charge gauge (CHG) appears when a Hatse- Gummi is equipped. It falls to zero when boosters are engaged, and then recharges over time. The shield gauge (SHD) appears when a Shield-Gummi is equipped. When the Sheild- Gummi deflects attacks, the shield gauge decreases instead of the armor gauge. However, the armor gauge decreases if a ship equipped with only a frontal shield takes damage form behind.  
  
Lia stopped reading for a moment, 'Uh,right.' her gaze returned to the thick book. She finished not to soon after and glared at the control panel with renewed confidence. 'So, let's get this going...' she thought as she pressed the start up button. The panel came alive with color and noise and a holographic map appeared on the screen infront of her.  
  
"Button, button. Who's got the button."  
  
She moved her eyes from one end of the board to the other. She pressed the 'Up' directional button. "So... Where is Wonderland?" she spoke in an annoyed tone to the consol.  
  
"It's here you moronic human." a mechanical voice chimed. Suddenly a tiny world appeared with a screen next to it naming locations that read 'Wonderland' as its title.  
  
Lia jumped three feet off of her seat and flipped backwards over the chair and onto the floor, "What the hell was that!" she yelled franticly.  
  
" 'That' would be model X-3982401 specialty Gummi Ship... Moron." bleeped the mechanical voice.  
  
Lia eyed the control panel, "So I'm talking to the ship?".  
  
"That's what I just said, or should I spell it out for you?", Lia rolled her eyes. Lia put her hand on her hips and glared angrily at the consol.  
  
'Great, I should have known Cid would pull something like this...' , Lia cursed slightly and arranged herself back into her chair."Fine, so I thought I heard voices...again." she rolled her eyes.  
  
"Alright, since we have confirmed your complete lack of intelligence..." Lia glared angrily at consol, "...we can continue." Lia was about to yell at the little- whatever, when a small arrow pointed upward to the locations, "Just incase you *hadn't* read the guide book and all twenty-seven of its chapters, you would know that this is the box of destinations already discovered or visited by Sora and his company. If you move you hand over to the little buttons that say 'Up' and 'Down' you can pick where you want to go."  
  
Lia's eye twitched angrily as she tried her hardest to *not* bash the screen in. "Frankly, I think you should go to the first location on the list, just so you can get the full experience of getting yourself into trouble, not just jumping around." said the monotone voice.  
  
"Smart ass."  
  
The computerized voice bleep and responded: "Smart, the act of being of heightened intelligence; Ass, slang term for the human buttocks; donkey.", Lia rolled her eyes again and gave a huff of annoyance. "Geeze, I think I've met my match...Well then, we'll go to the first place on the list."  
  
~*~  
  
Lia landed head first into a crazed looking room. Clocks lined the wooden circular room, furniture ranging in designs lined the walls only... they weren't exactly three dimensional. The whole room looked like a painted on background giving Lia a claustrophobic feeling in the pit of her stomach.  
  
Lia growled, that was the last time she was going to trust a bloody computer!  
  
Her eyes shifted nervously over the room and she walked slowly down the long corridor. The hall ended abruptly and she stood in the middle of a small room. A twin sized bed stood alone in the corner as well as a chair and a few bookcases. What Lia assumed to be the focal point in the room was a small round wooden table in the center of the room. The curious looking vials stood proudly against the dark surface; their bright colors adding a light splash against the table.  
  
Lia's shoes clunked against the tiled floor as she walked closer to the table. She extended a thin arm to the surface of the table and lazily ran her fingers across its polished surface. She trailed around it until her left foot hit the wall and it gave a loud yelp.  
  
Okay...  
  
Lia, startled by the new sound, tripped on one of the legs of the table and fell unceremoniously to the floor. She opened her eyes and rolled them about for a moment until her sight came to rest on the source of the scream. A small, no, a very small door stood out against the white wall scrunching its... doorknob...or nose and grunting.  
  
"Ouch! Watch were you step you little..."  
  
Lia gave a cry and rolled onto her back to get up to run but stopped when the door person spoke: "You could at least apologize for your behavior...miss." Lia's lips turned into an awkward smile and she laughed nervously, "Uh, yeah sure....sorry 'bout that uh?". The doorknob turned itself slightly to take a better look at the girl and it wrinkled its nose slightly in thought, "Better than most I suppose.". Lia glared angrily at the door and gritted her teeth, "What was that?!" she huffed.  
  
"Nothing, absolutely nothing."  
  
"Keep it that way."  
  
Lia shifted in her upright position and pressed her face close to the door, "Are you the way out of this room?" she asked with a slight smile.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Are you."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
She huffed again and licked her lips when she realized she was thirsty. She stood up and looked around the room, where the heck is the sink? She spotted the two containers again and took a sip of one.  
  
"WHOA!"  
  
Either the room was getting a hell of a lot bigger or she was.....SHRINKING! The contents of the room grew humongous and Lia could only watch on.  
  
~*~  
  
Once the transformation was complete, Lia walked around the giant floor in awe of her surroundings. She ran over to the now normal sized door and put her hands to her hips, "So are you the way out?".  
  
"Yes."  
  
Lia pushed on the door and walked through to the world that lied beyond.  
A/N: GOMEN! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm soooo sorry for posting so friggin' late. Please don't come after me with pitch forks, I might not survive to write the next chapter! (by the way, if my mom finds out I'm up *this* late she will come after me with a pitch fork ::cowers in the corner:: Yipe!:: )  
  
Riku: You'll be lucky if I don't kill you....keeping me locked away with those morons in there! ::points to her head::  
  
Uh, before Riku starts on his ranting I'll end this to save you the discomfort.  
  
::Riku in the lead and millions of little shadow warriors following behind him brandishing pitchforks and torches:: ATTACK!!!  
  
AHHHHHHHHH!! Reviews welcomed, feel free to flame; I'll be sure to use em' to light my fireplace.  
  
(P.S.: Sorry for any and all typing errors and bad use of punctuation.)  
  
~Mandala  
  
TBC 


End file.
